No, not like this. First, Israel launched an assault on the West Bank that violated human rights in response to the kidnappings. Now, it’s striking innocent civilians in Gaza in retaliation to Hamas’ rockets. This is called a reprisal or collective punishment (read: revenge), and it’s illegal under international law. Hamas’ rocket fire is indefensible, but this doesn’t justify Israel’s attack on Gaza’s civilian population.

This logic hasn’t found traction in Israel. Some, like lawmaker Ayelet Sheked have chosen not to mince words: “The entire Palestinian people are the enemy.” In her Facebook post that got 5000+ Likes, she went on to call for the killing of Palestinian mothers, who “give birth to little snakes.” Such comments are not an aberration, evidenced by videos of Israeli mobs chanting “Death to Arabs.” The “moderate” former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livny said of Israel, “when you fire on its citizens it responds by going wild – and this is a good thing.” In a disturbing scene, while Israeli lawmakers call for cutting electricity to Gaza, some Israeli citizens are watching the bombing of Gaza as if it were a movie.

With Gaza suffering from a drinking water shortage, a deepening crisis of poverty and unemployment (over 40%), and crumbling infrastructure (partly due to Israeli bombing), it’s time for a real peace. This would mean the end of the blockade, the end of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and a 2-state solution under the Fatah-Hamas unity government. Though Netanyahu has said “no international pressure will prevent” further strikes on Gaza, worldwide protests rage on, with the hope that ordinary citizens can accomplish what our governments refuse to push for – peace and justice in the Gaza Strip.